[OSM-talk] Never run out of batteries again!

[Simon Hewison]

Andy Robinson (blackadder) wrote:
> 
> I remember those rim running dynamos on my bike as a kid. I hated them
> because they made a load of noise and you could really feel the resistance.
> It amazes me that nobody has come up with a simpler and more efficient
> solution.

I've got one of these:

www.freelights.co.uk

It's a tumbling magnet inductive coil generator. It was also very cheap.

Far less friction than a tyre-wall friction dynamo, it doesn't generate that 
much power, but it's enough to run flashing LEDs. It does just make a 'tick 
tick tick tick' sound as you move, and it's quite satisfying hearing the beats 
per minute of the ticking go up as you go faster.

I used it as a back-up to my normal set of rechargeable battery lights, so 
that I've always got the legal minimum lights, even when my normal battery 
lights are flat.

-- 
Simon Hewison